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(No Model.) D. W. MARMON.

. AUTOMATIC FEED GATE. No. 281,707. Patented July 24, 1883.

WITNESSES. IN VEJV TOR.

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U ITED STATES PATENT FFICE.\

DANIEL IV. MARMON, OF INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE NORDYKE &;MARMON COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

. AUTOMATIC FEED-GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 281,707, dated July 24,1883.

Application filodDccemher :6, 18%). (No model To all whom it mayconcern.-

Be it known that I, DANIEL W. IVIARMON, of the city of Indianapolis,county of Marion, and State of Indiana, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Automatic Feed-Gates, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to that class of feeding devices which are adaptedto be automatically operated by the material passing through them, or,in other words, in which the opening is increased by the additionalweight of the material as the hopper fills, and decreasedas the amountof material in the hopper grows less. It isespecially intended to beused with roller-mills, but maybe used with middlingspurifiers, or inany place where fine material is to be gradually fed to a machine.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part hereof,and on which similar letters of reference indicate similar parts, Figure1 is a transverse vertical section on the dotted line 2 2, Fig. 2, ofthe hopper and feed mechanism of a roller-mill embodying my improvedgate; Fig. 2, aside elevation of the same; and Fig. 3, ahorizontalsectional view, looking upwardly from the dotted line 4 y, Fig. 2,showing the gate and feed-rolls in under-side plan.

In said drawings, the portions marked A represent my improved gate, Bthefeed-roll, and O the hopper, said hopper and feed-roll being of anydesired or appropriate forms. The gate A extends from end to end of themachine, alongside the feed-roll, and is mounted on pivots a, near thefeed-exit of the hopper, It has an arm, A, which extends around to apoint inside the hopper, above the roll, upon which is a lug, a, towhich a spring, A, is attached. The effect of this spring, as will bereadily seen, is to urge ,the gate toward or against the roll B. A smallrod, a at the end of this spring, and a thumb-nut thereon, or

some other suitable means of adjustment, should be employed to regulatethe tension of this spring, and thus determine the force necessary toovercome it to increase the feed. The spring is secured to the hopper bya suitable eye or clip, 0. A suitable weight might be used instead ofthe spring A", if desired,

though I prefer the spring, as being more sensitive than a weight.Attached to or resting against the inner end of the arm A-is apressure-board, A. The preferable (because simpler) construction is thatshown at the right of '5 5 Fig. 1, where the board is shown attachedrigidly to the arm A; but pivoting the board separately on a pivot, aaccomplishes the same result. The board A is surrounded with flexiblematerial a, (as cloth,) which is also attached to the hopper, andprevents any of the material from getting behind the press ure board.

The operation of my invention is as follows:

The s rin A when the hopper is empty,

ery of material to the hopper should be 75 checked, the decreasedpressure permits the spring A to close the gate sufficiently to maintainan equality between the inflow and outflow of the material. In case theinflow should cease, the gate would close, but would imme- 8o diatelyreopen upon the supply being resumed.

A distinguishing feature of my invention is e that the force of thematerial in the hopper in creases more than proportionally as saidmaterial rises nearer the top of the hopper. The 8 5 reason for this isthat the pressure-board is pivoted near to or below its lower edge, andthe material therefore has a leverage which increases, of course, thefarther it gets from the pivot. and thus the fiow is kept much moreuniform with the supply than-is otherwise practicable.

' I have chosen to illustrate my invention as it appears when used inconnection with the feed-rolls and hopper of a roller-mill, and, 5

rather for the purpose of showing an alternate construction thanotherwise, I have shown a hopper which is applicable to a double mill.Said feed-rolls, however, have nothing to do with my present invention,and might be dis- IOO As the material rises it exerts an in- This makesmy gate very sensitive, o

pensed with entirely by simply extending the sides of the hoppers downfar enough so that the gates would come directly in contact therewith;and it is manifest that the double construction shown is simply a matterof selection, for the reason before stated, and that a single hoppermight as well have been shown instead.

This invention relates solely to the feedgate and its operatingmechanism, and, as here inbefore stated, the hopper and feed-roll may beof any form desired.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim. as new, anddesire to seeu re by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of the feed-hopper, the feed-gate therefor, an armattached to said feed-gate. and extending around to a position insidethe hopper, a pressure-board which rests against the inner end of saidarm and is supported by a pivot near to or below its lower end, and aspring which exerts its force oppositely to the pressure of the materialupon the pressure-board.

2. The combination of the hopper, the feedgate A, the pressure-board A",connected to said gate and pivoted near to or below its lower edge, andmeans for holding said gate downward and said pressure-board forward,sub stantially as set forth.

3. The combination of the hopper, the gate, the arm, the spring, thepressure-board, and the feed-roll, said several parts being arranged andoperating substantially as shown and described, and for the purposesspecified.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, atIndianapolis, Indiana, this 22d day of December, A. D. 1882.

DANIEL \V. MA RMON.

